Hamid Hadavi, president of Islamic Culture Research Foundation, delivers a speech at the “Revolution and Evolution in Islamic Thought and History” conference on 5 October in the RAS Institute of Philosophy

The Islamic Culture Research Foundation has been involved in supporting Islamic studies in Russia for 10 years, and since the time the foundation was established the RAS Institute of Philosophy has been its most reliable and active partner.

When we first discussed our cooperation with the Institute in 2007, we suggested a number of joint projects, but nobody could imagine that this cooperation would be so successful. Today we have 16 great academic and educational editions prepared by the Institute members, not to mention 7 issues of the world-class “Ishrak” yearbook, a common initiative of the RAS Institute of Philosophy, the Iranian Institute of Philosophy and the Islamic Culture Research Foundation. The 8th issue of this remarkable periodical is going to see the light very soon.

A whole range of the Institute members’ books issued in cooperation with the Islamic Culture Research Foundation were published twice, which proves their wide recognition.

At the same time, our cooperation with the Institute was not limited to academic literature only. Over these 10 years about 10 conferences and book presentations were conducted in the Institute of Philosophy, each of them being a significant event in the Russian academic environment.

Another important dimension of the cooperation between the Islamic Culture Research Foundation and the Institute of Philosophy is educational activity, which has reached a new level this year. A number of short-term courses on Islamic Philosophy will be given in the Institute of Philosophy, and the scope of these courses can furthermore be extended due to teaching some other subjects related to Islamic studies.

Both the Institute and the Foundation understand the necessity for promoting academic knowledge, also in virtual space, since digital editions have become ingrained in the modern readers’ life due to their obvious advantages. We are happy that the sincere interest and high competence of the Institute’s director and its members resulted in the creation of a modern digital library complying with all international standards. The Foundation will contribute to forming a collection of academic Islamic studies materials centred around the works of the Institute members.

This being said, the Foundation does not limit its activity to common projects with the Institute of Philosophy and invites all interested centres studying Islamic culture to cooperation.